disclaimer of any unworthy
imputations respecting the brown horse. Such insinuations are only for
horse-dealers, not for men of high gentlemanly feeling.

'I am sorry to say we have not got out of the horse as I hoped. Lord
Bullfrog, who is a most cantankerous fellow, insists upon having him back,
according to the terms of my letter; I must therefore trouble you to hunt
him up, and let us accommodate his lordship with him again. If you will say
where he is, I may very likely know some one who can assist us in getting
him. You will excuse this trouble, I hope, considering that it was to serve
you that I moved in the matter, and insisted on returning him to his
lordship, at a loss of L50 to myself, having only given L250 for him.

'I remain, dear Waffles,

'Yours sincerely,

'H. SPONGE.'

'To W. WAFFLES, Esq.,
'Imperial Hotel, Laverick Wells.'

'LAVERICK WELLS.

'DEAR SPONGE,

'I'm afraid Bullfrog will have to make himself happy without his horse, for
I hav'n't the slightest idea where he is. I sold him to a cockneyfied,
countryfied sort of a man, who said he had a small "hindependence of his
own"--somewhere, I believe, about London. He didn't give much for him, as
you may suppose, when I tell you he paid for him chiefly in silver. If I
were you, I wouldn't trouble myself about him.

'Yours very truly,

'W. WAFFLES.

'To H. SPONGE, Esq.'

Our hero addressed Mr. Waffles again, in the course of a few days, as
follows:

'DEAR WAFFLES,

'I am sorry to say Bullfrog won't be put off without the horse. He says I
insisted on his taking him back, and now he insists on having him. I have
had his lawyer, Mr. Chousam, of the great firm of Chousam, Doem, and Co.,
of Throgmorton Street, at me, who says his lordship will play old
gooseberry with us if we don't return him by Saturday. Pray put on all
steam, and look him up.

'Yours in haste,

'H. SPONGE.

'To W. WAFFLES, Esq.'

Mr. Waffles did put on all steam, and so successfully that he ran the
horse to ground at our friend Mr. Buckram's. Though the horse was in the
box adjoining the house, Mr. Buckram declared he had sold him to go to
'Hireland'; to what county he really couldn't say, nor to what hunt; all he
knew was, the gentleman said he was a 'captin,' and lived in a castle.

Mr. Waffles communicated the intelligence to Sponge, requesting him to do
the best he could for him, who reported what his 'bes